Recently, to design the structure of an apparatus, there has been proposed a technique of verifying the layout of component parts within the apparatus using three-dimensional data, i.e. virtual space data.
This technique makes it possible to verify the layout of component parts in advance at a design stage instead of creating a prototype and performing verification thereon, which contributes to developing products in a shorter time period.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-56040
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-258643
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-134297
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-301953
Now, there is an increasing need to apply the above-mentioned pre-verification performed using three-dimensional data not only to the arrangement of non-deformable component parts, but also to the layout of component parts having flexibility (hereinafter referred to as “flexible objects”) such as cord-like or band-like cables.
In the case of performing pre-verification on a flexible object, first, a route along which the flexible object passes is created (determined) and then the verification is performed along the route.
However, in a case where a non-deformable component part, such as a connector, is connected to the flexible object, it is not easy to determine, in a state where the flexible object has been disposed (routed) in an apparatus, whether or not a space for routing the flexible object is secured.
For this reason, if the verification is performed in a state without a connector to determine the route for the flexible object, there is a problem that when the flexible object is actually routed along the route, it may turn out to be impossible to pass the flexible object due to interference of the connector connected to the flexible object with another structure existing in the vicinity of the route.
Therefore, it has been necessary to separately manually verify whether or not the flexible object having the connector connected thereto can actually be routed along the designated route.